


Not All Mods

by britishshoe



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-17 11:32:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4664949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/britishshoe/pseuds/britishshoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>mod vs rocker. gerard vs frank.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not All Mods

1964 had come and gone but youth culture was as insatiable as ever. After the Brighton Beach incident, parents buckled down on their younger teens and grasped at the threads of their older's coattails. On this specific summer night, the English breeze caught Gerard's dark hair as he roamed the city with his friends. His younger brother, Mikey, had begged to go, but it was a bad neighborhood for guys like them, and he was only 15. Anyone that set foot downtown in a clean cut suit was begging to get his head bashed in, but who didn't want a cold pint after a warm day? 

The pub smelled like sour garbage and a month of biker sweat built up. Gerard walked up to the bar and sat, a friend on either side of him. You could forget sore thumbs, the group stuck out like flamingos in a lion's den. They each ordered a bottle of beer, nervous of their surroundings, and drank quickly with little conversation. The men around them were much edgier, pounding lager and yelling at each other, both gleefully and angrily. When a fight broke out down the bar, the group decided to head for the hills. Gerard was the first to stand up, and went to the bathroom telling his mates to meet him outside. Much to his dismay, the few minutes between him and the door made as an apparent getaway for his gang. When his oxfords hit the street, he found a dark scene absent of any familiar faces. It took him two steps before two men stepped out in front of him, one around his height and one that didn't appear to clear five foot.  
"You the fella those other two were waitin' on?" The small one asked, a cockney accent dripping from his lips.

"Yeah I guess... Where did they go?" Gerard asked, sliding his hands into his trouser pockets.

"They hit the bricks, just like you."

Before Gerard could make a run for it or even fully process the sentence, he found himself on on the ground, being pummeled by the tiny, leather jacket clad biker. He felt his feet spring forward on instinct, and the stranger flopped onto the ground. The taller man grabbed Gerard under the armpits, putting him in a sloppy full nelson as his small friend scrambled to his feet to deliver a blow to the mod's exposed face. As his nose erupted with blood, police sirens rang onto the street. The attackers tried to make a run for it, and the tall one was successful, but Gerard caught the miniature assailant by his jeans and sent him toppling to the curb. Two policeman arrived on the scene and heaved each of them up, locking their hands behind their back.

"He attacked me, what are you doing?!" Gerard's pleas garnered no sympathy, and the policeman threw him in the back of the car along with the angry stranger.

"You two have a lot of nerve doing this shit after Brighton," one of the officers spat through the fenced barrier as his partner nodded.

The car ride was quieter than the vacuum of space as the small man wriggled away from Gerard and looked out his window sullenly. Gerard thought about the "I told you so!" his mother would deliver when he called her from the clink and he shook his head at the idea. They came to an abrupt halt and the small man hit his head on the window, making Gerard chuckle. He shot him a glare as he was hauled out of the car and toward the door. They separated for processing, but ended up in cells across the hall, the doors slammed shut. 

"Frank Iero! Your mommy will be here to pick you up shortly," a guard shouted from the front and the small man recoiled in anger and embarrassment.

"Woah, what the hell, why did his mum get called?" Gerard asked as a second guard passed him by.

"I'm a minor, dipshit," the boy now known as Frank yelled across the way.

"Iero, cool it. Way, you're not here to ask questions," the guard said and continued her exit. 

"You're... You're a minor?" Gerard asked sheepishly as he stuck his face between the bars.

"Aren't you listening, man? I'm fucking 15, so what?" 

"Why did you attack me, kid?"

"Listen, don't patronize me. You hate me and I hate you!"

"I don't hate you. I don't even know you!"

"Yeah well you're a faggy mod and you deserve to get beaten up by every guy like me forever!"

"Isn't Britain a little long in the tooth to have a gang battle over our jacket style?"

Frank was facing away from the hall and Gerard thought he might be crying.

"Come on, man. Wanna talk about it?" Gerard waited to no avail before pushing again. "My name's Gerard. I'm 19. I'm from Hammersmith."

"I didn't ask for your life story," Frank responded before standing up and turning around. "And what kinda name's Gerard?"

"My parents are unique people."

"I'm sorry for kicking your ass, Gerard. Bet you wish you woulda stayed home with your Who records."

"Well, that is true... And hey, you may have broke my nose, but my ass is unscathed."

They shared a laugh before Frank looked at his feet and took in a deep sigh, nearly deflating. He looked up at Gerard and twisted his hands around the bars before speaking again.

"Last year at Brighton Beach my brother was one of the rockers that got stabbed," he said with tears pooling at his waterline. "He didn't make it."

"Frank, I'm so sorry," Gerard said, nearly spilling a sympathy tear. "No one should have to deal with that. I would never do that to someone."

"Not all mods," Frank mumbled as he dropped to the bench. Before Gerard could respond, a guard retrieved him for his one call. He walked to the front and held the phone with both hands as he made the call to his mother, who yelled at him for the minute allotted, making it feel like an hour. He hung up and sighed, the guard walking him back to his cell.

When they arrived he stepped in and looked across the way to a similar cell, now empty.

"Where's Iero?"

"His mum got here. No charges are being pressed and you're a first time offender so when your mum arrives, you're good to go."

Gerard retrieved his jacket and walked to the front to retrieve the items that were taken from him. The guard at the front handed him his house key, his cigarettes, and his wallet. He stepped outside to wait for his mom and lit one while sitting on a nearby bench. He thought about Frank and the mediocre beer and his friends that should expect a tongue lashing. He looked at the stars for a while before hearing his mom screech up, an annoyed look on her face. Mikey sat in the front laughing as Gerard butted out his cigarette and climbed in the back. 

"Heard you got beat up by a kid from my school!" Mikey shouted and stuck his tongue out, giggling. 

"Michael, mouth," their mom resounded before looking at Gerard in the rear view mirror. "Downtown is an unsafe area, Gerard. I told you so."


End file.
